The present invention relates to a marker for surgical procedures.
In carrying out surgical procedures on complicated bone parts within the human body, for instance the spinal column, the place where the operation is to be carried out is determined and established prior to the operation. In order to avoid having surgical intervention taking place too far from the place to be operated on, or at the wrong angle or in the wrong plane, it is necessary to mark this place as accurately as possible.
The marking needles used up to the present time can be positioned and fixed only with inadequate precision. Even colored marking of the corresponding place on the skin is too inaccurate, since the part of the skin in question can move when the patient is placed on the operating table.
A situation of interest is a particular type of surgical operation, namely a facetectomy for a posterior-lateral approach to a cervical discectomy. This operation is made difficult by the inability to be assured of the correct location of the discectomy. Because of this, a large incision and intraoperative x-rays were required. There is a need to pinpoint the correct location and allow a much smaller incision. This must be accomplished in a manner wherein any movement of the muscles of the neck relative to the spine would not diminish accuracy in the marking of the location.